Summary
An Australian telecom company, Optus, sent emails about a serious network outage to the wrong government email address. The outage, associated with multiple deaths as people couldn't reach emergency services, was not communicated effectively, delaying a response. The company and its owner, Singtel, are under investigation for potential legal breaches.
Key Facts
- Optus sent emails about a telecom outage to the wrong government email address.
- The outage on September 18, 2023, affected emergency calls, and has been linked to four deaths.
- The Australian government learned about the outage more than 36 hours later through an industry regulator.
- Optus did not redirect emergency calls to other providers during the outage, as required by law.
- The email communication error occurred after the government changed its email address and informed the industry beforehand.
- A routine firewall update by Optus caused the outage.
- The Australian media regulator is investigating if Optus breached any laws.
- Optus faced previous incidents, including a major cyberattack in 2022 and a nationwide outage in 2023.
